Bucks accept coach’s challenge, advance to NBA Cup finals — PHOTOS
Doc Rivers didn’t want to stand on a soapbox and preach.
He just had some things to say about his Milwaukee Bucks team and the NBA Cup.
“It’s a competition, man,” Rivers said. “You want your team to be competitive. Just accept the challenge. That’s all I’ve been talking about. I think we run from challenges a lot.
“Let’s accept it. Let’s put our name out there and try to win it. If we don’t, we don’t. But there’s nothing wrong with saying you want to win something. If you don’t, at least you went for it.”
His team is going for it.
It’s one victory from lifting the Cup.
The Bucks on Saturday road the coattails of their two stars to a 110-102 win over Atlanta in one semifinal at T-Mobile Arena.
Milwaukee will now face Oklahoma City in Tuesday night’s championship.
The NBA Cup is an annual in-season tournament that will conclude in Las Vegas for the second straight year. Milwaukee also made the semifinals last season but was dismissed by Indiana. This time, the Bucks took another step forward.
They did so because of Giannis Antetokounmpo and Damian Lillard, because the two-man game between these elite players continues to develop and become more lethal.
Winning plays
Antetokounmpo is playing some of the best ball of his career and finished an assist away from a triple-double Saturday. He had 32 points, 14 rebounds, nine assists and four blocks. He was his regular dominant self. Lillard added 25 points.
Winning plays. The Bucks made them when needed. Antetokounmpo’s block of a an alley-pop pass intended for Clint Capela came with 2:35 left and Milwaukee up five. Antetokounmpo also made 8 of his last 10 free throws. He was diving for loose balls. He was everywhere.
“I was just trying to compete,” he said. “Came back in with seven, eight minutes to go trying to win a game. I’ll do whatever it takes to win. We’re here to compete. We won. Stay focused, stay humble and try and get the next one.”
Atlanta is one of the fastest teams in the NBA. And yet when it pushed pace early, the Bucks more than kept up. And when things predictably slowed down in the fourth quarter, when possessions became more precious and execution was needed, Antetokounmpo and Lillard really went to work.
Their two-man game has been a work in progress since Lillard was traded to Milwaukee last year. But the more they play together, the better it becomes. It was a floater by Lillard with 23.2 seconds remaining that made it 107-100 and all but ended things. The dagger.
“People expected us to be the best duo ever to play the game,” Antetokounmpo said. “It takes time. We can always improve, but our chemistry together right now is the best it has ever been.”
Lillard made things simple: That there is no reason to force action. Play the game the right way. When you have a running partner like Antetokounmpo, who garners so much attention from opposing defenses, just catch-and-shoot when the looks are clean.
Trae Young totaled 35 points, seven rebounds and 10 assists for the Hawks, who never got closer than 98-96 down the stretch.
This is a much better Milwaukee team than one that began the season 2-8. It’s better defensively because there’s no way it could be worse. It’s better because of that Antetokounmpo-Lillard chemistry.
It’s also nails in this Cup format with a combined record of 11-1 over the past two seasons.
Chasing the money
“We were a little sharper this time coming into (the semifinals), remembering our last experience here,” Lillard said. “We came correct. It wasn’t going to be perfect. We played a good team. But we prepared well, and it just felt familiar to us. Coming back for a second time, it didn’t feel like some random new thing.”
Rivers is also enjoying his team’s second straight trip here in chasing a Cup. So too are some of his younger names, given players on the championship team each receive $514,971.
“It’s not about the money, but the competition,” Rivers said. “Now, for those guys not playing, it’s about the money. I’ve never been hugged by rookies like I was after this game. They were celebrating like it’s a big game.”
It was. It’s a challenge. Throw your name out there. Go for it.
And when in doubt, work that two-man game.
Can’t go wrong there.
Second semifinal
Oklahoma City 111, Houston 96: Star point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander had 32 points, eight rebounds and six assists for the Thunder, who outscored Houston 70-54 in the second half.
Four players scored at least 19 for Oklahoma City, while Amen Thompson led the Rockets with 19 points.
The league’s best defense in Oklahoma City held the Rockets to 36.5 percent shooting, including 23.9 percent on 3s.
Contact Ed Graney at egraney@reviewjournal.com. Follow @edgraney on X.